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Monday, October 30, 2006

I have always had a fascination with the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead and the skeleton figurines. I have found some of the most unusual pieces created by artists in central Mexico. I recently acquired a new piece, a mermaid, which I am thrilled to now own. She is so fragile and delicate, but sits high on my mantle away from the cats!

Our other addition was given to me and my husband from a friend I have had since 6th grade. It was an award at her Halloween party for coming the farthest to attend. She knows that my husband and I love to ride and we came as what else, bikers! I'd have to say that this is Jeff's favorite between the two new additions!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Here are the ATC's I received in a recent exchange with the theme of Halloween. Boy it's great receiving something in the mail besides a bill! I received cards from Beth Robinson, Maija Lepore, Cece Grimes, Ruth Rae, Amy Huff, and Deryn Mentock. Thank you ladies! I really adore each one of them!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Ah, I received an email from Dear Lois today...what a hoot! I could hear her voice as I read her email and it reminded me of some of special times in France when laughter was in abundance. One Saturday we all ventured off to a flea market in the countryside. On the way out of the market, Lois had stopped at one vendors booth, only to discover that they had....clown noses. Lois being the hoot that she is, bought up enough for the group. We schemed a plan to bring the clown noses to dinner and deliver the rest of the noses to the group as a surprise, and boy, were they surprised! I had not laughed that hard for such an extended period that my checks hurt. Here are a few pictures of the evening event. I can still hear the laughter....

Monday, October 02, 2006

I thought I would take some time to share my wonderful memories of my trip to France. It was truely one of the best experiences of my life...I was uncertain how I would feel in a country where Americans are not thought of highly, but for the most part, the French were very welcoming and warm. I was a bit nervous at first, but I was lucky enough to fly into Toulouse with my roommate to be, Lois. We arrived in Toulouse and had to pick up the rental car...no problem, I had a full tank of gas, a map, and Lois. As we drove out of the airport, it suddenly occured to me that I could not read the road signs...and did you know that in France, they don't have 4 way stops or signs that tell you what the next major intersection will be? Needless to say, we instantly got lost and had a lovely tour of Toulouse. How we ever managed to get to the hotel is a miricle, but a good bottle of French wine calmed any left over anxiety!

The following day, we met up with our group and drove to Dufort, which is an old copper mining town. The stream runs down the center of town, which was once used to wash copper items that were made by hand in those days. Here are some pictures of the town and our room with a spectacular view. It was amazing and nothing like I had ever seen before. Lois and I shared a room that overlooked a stream with a running waterfall and slept with the windows open at night so we could listen to the music of the waterfall...

We had our own cook, Neesha, that came daily to make us breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were all very spoiled after a week of her cooking. The French use no preservatives in their food and their food tastes so fresh and wonderful. They eat lots of cheese and bread with every meal. I loved it, savored every moment of every meal and still dream about how wonderful the food was...

Sunday, October 01, 2006

I finally had the motivation to work in the calendar swap for September. I am only a day late....I've been busy since I have returned from France and just haven't had the time, or motivation to work in this calendar, until today. I like working spontaneously and I was happy with the way these two spreads turned out.